The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/19251

The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) is an academic journal published by the LINK Centre, School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM), Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), AJIC is an interdisciplinary, open access journal concerned with Africa’s participation in the information society and digital network economy. The journal does not impose author processing charges. AJIC's predecessor, The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication (SAJIC), was published from 2000 to 2008, before becoming AJIC in 2010.

Corresponding Editor: Lucienne Abrahams. AJIC Submissions

ISSN: 2077-7213 (online version)

ISSN: 2077-7205 (print version)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19251

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2016 - 20203

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Author: search.filters.author.Rutenberg, Isaac

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    Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deployments in Africa: Benefits, Challenges and Policy Dimensions
    (2020-12-15) Gwagwa, Arthur; Kraemer-Mbula, Erika; Rizk, Nagla; Rutenberg, Isaac; De Beer, Jeremy
    The deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is proliferating on the African continent, but policy responses are still at their early stages. This article provides an overview of the main elements of AI deployment in Africa, AI’s core benefits and challenges in African settings, and AI’s core policy dimensions for the continent. It is argued that for AI to build, rather than undermine, socio-economic inclusion in African settings, policymakers need to be cognisant of the following key dimensions: gender equity, cultural and linguistic diversity, and labour market shifts.
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    Drivers and Modalities of Collaborative Innovation among Nairobi’s Mobile Tech Start-ups
    (2020-12-15) Nzomo, Victor; Mwangi, Jacquelene; Matu-Mureithi, Louisa; Muchiri, Caroline Wanjiru; Rutenberg, Isaac
    This article sets out findings from research into the collaborative modalities present in the innovation practices of mobile tech start-ups in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Drawing on findings from qualitative data collection from respondents at 25 startups in the Nairobi mobile tech ecosystem, the study explores the start-ups’ participation in tech hubs, their internal collaborative activities, their external collaborations, their approaches to managing the knowledge and innovations they generate, and their approaches to the scaling of their enterprises. The study finds that three key drivers of the start-ups’ collaborative innovation practices are openness, networking, and informality.
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    Utility Model Protection in Kenya: The Case for Substantive Examination
    (LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2016-11-15) Rutenberg, Isaac; Makanga, Lillian
    The patent-granting authority of the Kenyan government ceased examining applications for utility model certificates (UMCs) in 2014, after 20 years of examination. This event resulted in an immediate and dramatic increase in the number of granted UMCs. The authors reviewed a selection of UMCs, some of which were granted after substantive examination and some of which were granted without substantive examination. Errors were found in both groups, and the overall quality of granted UMCs declined after cessation of substantive examination. The authors conclude that a return to substantive examination of UMC applications would, on balance, be beneficial to Kenya’s innovative ecosystem, and recommend that such examination be reinstated.